Minister Heydon confirms commencement of €9.5 million in payments under the Protein Aid Scheme
- Published on: 3 December 2025
- Last updated on: 24 January 2026
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, has today announced payments have begun issuing to farmers under the Protein Aid scheme.
The Protein Aid Scheme was introduced to provide support to tillage farmers in establishing nitrogen-fixing crops, which are of huge environmental benefit, in addition to reducing the dependency on imported protein for use in animal feeds.
Speaking on the payments Minister Heydon said:
“I am delighted to confirm that payments totalling €9.5 million have commenced issuing under the 2025 Protein Aid Scheme and will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days.”
Minister Heydon added:
“The payment provided under this scheme is an important support for tillage farmers for the growing of protein crops, including beans, peas, lupins and the protein cereal mix crop. These protein crops deliver a range of environmental benefits in addition to reducing our reliance on imported sources of protein for animal feed and this is recognised by the significant increase in the payment rate in 2025.”
Concluding Minister Heydon said:
“The Protein Aid Scheme has proven extremely popular with tillage farmers again in 2025, with circa 18,000 hectares sown to protein crops. Combined with the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) payments and the commitment I have given to introduce further dedicated funding for the tillage sector I am confident that we can drive the growth of tillage farming in Ireland.”
Notes
The Protein Scheme is a voluntary coupled support scheme funded by the EU under Article 33 of EU regulation 2021/2115. Introduced to provide support for the growing of protein crops to counteract the dependence on imported protein for use in animal feeds.
In 2025, €10 million has been set aside for the Protein Aid Scheme, and payments are now commencing for the approximately 1,586 applicants. The rate for this year has been set at €600 per hectare for beans, peas, lupins and soya, with a half rate payment of €300 per hectare for the protein cereal mix. It is important to note that payments may take up to five days to reach farmers accounts.
In line with previous years, not all applications are currently cleared for payment under the Protein Aid Scheme. Regular pay runs will continue in the coming weeks to ensure cleared cases are processed for payment as quickly as possible.
Farmers can ring the Helpdesk at 057-8674422. Farmers can also submit any queries they may have online via www.agfood.ie or by email to tillage@agriculture.gov.ie.